Cambridge UK company Neul and California partner Carlson today launched the first commercially available white space radio system created for wireless internet service providers.

RuralConnect – unveiled in Florida – is the first radio networking system to deliver the full promise of TV white space broadband to the providers.

Sales of RuralConnect are being managed in the US by Carlson, the hardware partner, and shared internationally with software aces Neul.

The product launch follows the announcement of a global partnership in last October and is aimed at bringing affordable broadband to millions around the world.

The system will give users up to 16 Mbps of bandwidth for each available vacant TV channel and unmatched ability to make long range, non-line-of-sight links.

Designed specifically for the needs of wireless Internet service providers (WISPs), RuralConnect has been priced to make it immediately commercially viable. Samples and development kits are available now, with volume shipments of the new system to start as soon as Q2, 2012.

Thanks to the extension of the Payroll Tax Bill, passed in February 2012, white space radio is now fully available in the US, opening up a host of opportunities and new markets that are currently difficult to serve without expensive licensed spectrum or extensive infrastructure.

This has piqued the interest of many investors and venture capitalists looking to tap in to the unlimited possibilities of this emerging technology.

RuralConnect technology, jointly developed by Neul – Business Weekly’s newly-chosen Wireless Business of the Year – and Carlson, uses ‘white spaces,’ (unused portions of UHF spectrum), for digital communication.

Due to its outstanding propagation characteristics, UHF signals can travel through walls and other obstacles: Line of sight is not needed to the subscriber’s home.

But it is not enough just to be able to send a signal a long way. On long-range links reflections from buildings and terrain cause signals to travel via many different routes from the transmitter to the receiver. These multipath signals interfere can with each other, potentially causing unreliable, slow connections.

RuralConnect uses state of the art SCFDE technology to cancel the effect of multipath allowing reliable long range connections, whatever the terrain.

As a result WISPs using the new system can offer superior coverage over wide areas with limited base-station sites. It also enables the transfer of more data at higher data rates, driving additional revenue with minimal additional investment. Depending on the area, up to 20 channels are available, increasing the amount of non-line-of-sight capable spectrum available by a factor of 10.

Concurrently, Carlson is launching a line of omnidirectional and sectoral, high-gain, base-station antennas designed specifically for TV white-space broadband. The first of their kind, these antennas are powerful, affordable and energy efficient, says Neul CEO James Collier.

"RuralConnect marks a major milestone in the realisation of white space technologies, which have been in development for a while," commented Luke D’Arcy, VP of Marketing at Neul.

"The outstanding propagation characteristics of white space signals means that operators can to serve customers they cannot reach with existing wireless technology.

"The capacity available allows pioneering WISPs to offer all customers faster plans that beat ADSL based competition. And this is possible without investing in new tower sites, spectrum licenses or high priced network equipment, boosting profitable growth."

Carlson and Neul are showcasing the new product at ISPAmerica in Florida, until March 30.